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| Africa Horn |
| Somalia: Gun battle erupts near Bakara market |
| 2007-07-20 |
| (SomaliNet) Heavy armed confrontations have broken out mid last night around the main Bakara market in the Somalia chaotic capital of Mogadishu between government soldiers and local militants as both sides exchanged heavy machine-guns, hand and rocket propelled grenades. Explosions and gunfire, which started around 1:25 pm local time on the Wadnaha road lasted for 45 minutes as the event looked face-to-face gun battle. It is too early to know the casualty from the latest nighttime fighting as the city is under curfew. The fighting erupted when local insurgents launched an ambush attack on the soldiers stationing in the Wadnaha road where they fired all sorts of weapons. All the residents around Bakara market area woke up with the deafening sound of the blasts and gunfire. It is the heaviest gun battle around Bakara market since the siege began two weeks ago. The violence continues as the reconciliation conference is due to restart today at the former police compound in north of Mogadishu where the security is heavily tightened. The bombings and ambush attacks are an indication of strong presence of insurgents in Somalia supporting the ousted Islamic Courts Union. Meanwhile, the government soldiers killed one civilian and wounded two others in Wardhigley district, according to eyewitnesses. The shooting came when a group of young men insulted a passing government vehicle carrying soldiers where they fired shots killing one pedestrian and injuring two others. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 The directors of the Bakara market ought to do more with respect to clearly designating and marking different areas of the market with respect to expected levels of violence levels, suggested armament and probable rules of engagement. I think shoppers would really appreciate the improvements but my gut feeling could be backed up with inexpensive customer feedback forms if full blown marketing studies are cost prohibitive. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2007-07-20 22:15 |